1. (1) The legislature recognizes that intercity passenger rail is an integral part of the state's transportation system and is critical to the state's ability to meet the climate, public health, equity, and mobility goals of the state as it continues to experience growth. The legislature finds that intercity passenger rail is a highly efficient mode of transportation that connects small towns and major urban centers, and that the improvement of intercity passenger rail service through improvements to trip times, frequency, and reliability can enhance local economies and increase mobility options for Washington residents. Therefore, the legislature intends to reemphasize the need to prioritize the improvement of intercity passenger rail through data-driven analyses as it conducts project development work, including for the federal corridor identification and development program.

2. (2) The department shall prioritize the target goals in this subsection for the Amtrak Cascades service, with a goal of meeting them by 2035. The legislature recognizes that voluntary investments by the government of Canada, crown corporations, provincial entities, and Oregon state entities, will be required to achieve these target goals outside of Washington state borders.

   1. (a) Service reliability: Increase on-time performance with a minimum trip reliability goal of 88 percent on-time performance.
   2. (b) Service frequencies: A minimum of 14 round trips per day between Seattle and Portland and a minimum of five round trips per day between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.
   3. (c) Improvements to first and last mile connections: Create improved multimodal connectivity to other transportation options at stations.
   4. (d) Emission reductions: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with state goals.
3. (3) The department is required to prioritize the target goals set in subsection (2) of this section as it conducts project development work, including for the federal corridor identification and development program and for work that may be done in the future as part of the federal-state partnership for intercity passenger rail grant program. Project development work carried out by the department must include infrastructure investments and extensive coordination with host railroads, and other service partners, as necessary to achieve these target goals.

4. (4)

   1. (a) The department shall report to the transportation committees of the legislature, as well as to the joint transportation committee, annually on analyses conducted and progress made to achieve the target goals in subsection (2) of this section, including any information required to be disclosed under this subsection (4).

   2. (b)

      1. (i) If the department finds that one or more of the target goals set in subsection (2) of this section cannot be achieved due to a constraint unless it is mitigated by the legislature or another party, it must provide a full explanation of the constraint and detail what is necessary to mitigate it as part of the annual reporting requirement under (a) of this subsection.
      2. (ii) If the department finds that one or more of the target goals set in subsection (2) of this section cannot be achieved due to a constraint that cannot be mitigated, even with assistance from the legislature or another party, it must provide a detailed explanation of the reasons it believes a target goal should be modified, either temporarily or for the indefinite future, to accommodate the identified unavoidable constraint as part of the annual reporting requirement under (a) of this subsection.

5. (5)

   1. (a) The joint transportation committee must conduct an independent review of the Amtrak Cascades 2024 preliminary service development plan and any subsequent public draft or final documents related to the system development plan that are released by December 31, 2026. The review must analyze the technical aspects of the plan, the public engagement strategies used in development of the plan, and the effectiveness of the communication within plan documents. The technical aspects of the plan include, but are not limited to, the ridership analysis, capacity analysis, future travel scenarios analysis, and identification of proposed infrastructure improvements. To the extent practicable, the review must include a cost benefit analysis of travel time improvements realized by projects in relation to project costs estimates.
   2. (b) A final report summarizing findings of the review and recommendations for improving technical plan elements, as well as engagement and communication strategies is due by June 1, 2027. The report shall be submitted to the department, the transportation committees of the legislature, and the office of financial management.

[ 2025 c 363 s 1.]